Help with diagnoses

Eddie Haskell · 12-26-2005, 03:18 PM

I have a computer that all of a sudden kept restarting on it's own. I was getting no post noises out of the ordinary, just a sigle beep as it came to life. I tried to start it in safe mode but got the same results (restart after restart) I was thinking virus so I did a fresh install only to have the same results only this time I would get the "your system has recovered from a serious error" message...over and over again and once in a while I would get the "your system had problems, what would you like to do" and it gave me the safe mode, last known good confiuration, start windows normally, etc, etc choices. None of these choices seem to make any difference.
I took out each stick of ram, one at a time to see if one of them was causing the issue but no luck, actually the machine has no data leaving the video card anymore, it starts but all it does is run the fans, nothing on the screen at all (I tried different video cards, same results).
I'm pretty sure the MOBO is dead but I don't want to throw money at this thing if it isn't going to fix anything, I plan on building a new computer soon so If I can get by with a cheap simple fix that would be super. I know it will be hard for someone not sitting in front of it to diagnose the problem.
It has an MSI K7N2 MOBO, AMD XP cpu, Apacer ram (2x256) 350W power supply, XP Home (SP2).
I'm not sure what else I can give you now that the thing has all but died, any help or opinions would be great.

**Lax** · 12-26-2005, 06:09 PM

What's the PSU you're using now, brand and amperage?

**Praetor** · 12-26-2005, 06:56 PM

Have a run through Memtest

Eddie Haskell · 12-26-2005, 10:04 PM

Codegen/350W/8 amp

**Lax** · 12-26-2005, 11:01 PM

Do what Prae says and run memtest once through see if it gives any errors. You might also want to think about upgrading your PSU.

**Praetor** · 12-27-2005, 12:50 AM

With a PSU like that, I'd say the PSU is the culprit :S

Eddie Haskell · 12-27-2005, 01:12 PM

Even though I get power to all the fans? I'm not good at figuring out hardware issues but I would think that if the fans spin the PSU is working. Is there a way that a VOM would tell me if it's the problem? What is the best way to tell for sure if the PSU is the issue? Sorry for all the questions but I want to get this thing back up and running at the lowest possible price...Thanks for your responses.
By the way I've never run Memtest before but I would think the PC would still have to be in some kind of working order for me to use it. This thing does nothing but spin the fans at this point.

**Praetor** · 12-27-2005, 05:56 PM

Well if nothing more than fans spinnning that mean CPU not powered on meaning either mobo or PSU is getting in the way of the CPU getting power ... PSU is easier and cheaper to check

Eddie Haskell · 01-01-2006, 03:55 AM

I just wanted to thank you folks for pointing me in the right direction, turns out I had 2 issues at once (go figure). I changed out the power supply and the computer started to restart by itself again, I know that doesn't sound good but then I swapped each stick of ram (Apacer) with a known good stick and as it turns out one of them was bad causing the restart issue but it's all good now and I'm typing this message on it! Happy New Year and thanks again!

12-26-2005, 03:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
Eddie Haskell Bronze Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 90	Help with diagnoses I have a computer that all of a sudden kept restarting on it's own. I was getting no post noises out of the ordinary, just a sigle beep as it came to life. I tried to start it in safe mode but got the same results (restart after restart) I was thinking virus so I did a fresh install only to have the same results only this time I would get the "your system has recovered from a serious error" message...over and over again and once in a while I would get the "your system had problems, what would you like to do" and it gave me the safe mode, last known good confiuration, start windows normally, etc, etc choices. None of these choices seem to make any difference. I took out each stick of ram, one at a time to see if one of them was causing the issue but no luck, actually the machine has no data leaving the video card anymore, it starts but all it does is run the fans, nothing on the screen at all (I tried different video cards, same results). I'm pretty sure the MOBO is dead but I don't want to throw money at this thing if it isn't going to fix anything, I plan on building a new computer soon so If I can get by with a cheap simple fix that would be super. I know it will be hard for someone not sitting in front of it to diagnose the problem. It has an MSI K7N2 MOBO, AMD XP cpu, Apacer ram (2x256) 350W power supply, XP Home (SP2). I'm not sure what else I can give you now that the thing has all but died, any help or opinions would be great. __________________ "Never Initiate...Retaliate!" Bobby Allison

12-26-2005, 06:09 PM	#2 (permalink)
Lax Moderator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Snow country Age: 21 Posts: 2,262	What's the PSU you're using now, brand and amperage? __________________ He who controls the present controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.

12-26-2005, 06:56 PM	#3 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 19,951	Have a run through Memtest __________________ ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8 4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400 5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10 OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI

12-26-2005, 10:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
Eddie Haskell Bronze Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 90	Codegen/350W/8 amp __________________ "Never Initiate...Retaliate!" Bobby Allison

12-26-2005, 11:01 PM	#5 (permalink)
Lax Moderator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Snow country Age: 21 Posts: 2,262	Do what Prae says and run memtest once through see if it gives any errors. You might also want to think about upgrading your PSU. __________________ He who controls the present controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.

12-27-2005, 12:50 AM	#6 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 19,951	With a PSU like that, I'd say the PSU is the culprit :S __________________ ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8 4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400 5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10 OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI

12-27-2005, 01:12 PM	#7 (permalink)
Eddie Haskell Bronze Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 90	Even though I get power to all the fans? I'm not good at figuring out hardware issues but I would think that if the fans spin the PSU is working. Is there a way that a VOM would tell me if it's the problem? What is the best way to tell for sure if the PSU is the issue? Sorry for all the questions but I want to get this thing back up and running at the lowest possible price...Thanks for your responses. By the way I've never run Memtest before but I would think the PC would still have to be in some kind of working order for me to use it. This thing does nothing but spin the fans at this point. __________________ "Never Initiate...Retaliate!" Bobby Allison

12-27-2005, 05:56 PM	#8 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 19,951	Well if nothing more than fans spinnning that mean CPU not powered on meaning either mobo or PSU is getting in the way of the CPU getting power ... PSU is easier and cheaper to check __________________ ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8 4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400 5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10 OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI

01-01-2006, 03:55 AM	#9 (permalink)
Eddie Haskell Bronze Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 90	Update! I just wanted to thank you folks for pointing me in the right direction, turns out I had 2 issues at once (go figure). I changed out the power supply and the computer started to restart by itself again, I know that doesn't sound good but then I swapped each stick of ram (Apacer) with a known good stick and as it turns out one of them was bad causing the restart issue but it's all good now and I'm typing this message on it! Happy New Year and thanks again! __________________ "Never Initiate...Retaliate!" Bobby Allison

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